This book, published in 2006, was made popular by the movie, Winter's Bone, starring Jennifer Lawrence who was nominated for Best Actress for her performance. I have read almost all of Woodrell's works except for this one, mostly because I could not find it in a library. The story is set in the Appalachia of Missouri, an area we know little about but it's where Woodrell still lives and he knows it well. Rhee is the main character. She lives in the shallows of the mountains, with her frail, sick mother, and two siblings. Her father is on the lam from the law, put up their house as bail, and has run out on it. The sheriff stops by to tell Rhee she will have to move within the month unless her father shows up, The rest of the story describes Rhee's odyssey, trying to find out where her father has gone, if he's still alive. This means having some help from family, but mostly the search falls on Rhee's shoulders. She eventually convinces neighbors but also families with long standing grievances to help her. Three women, some of the toughest you have ever seen, like the duck dynasty guys but women, with mustaches, took her on a drive, blind folded, and drove her out to a lake, where they jumped in a boat, rowed to a certain spot, where her daddy was supposed resting. Rhee has to reach down into the water and pull up her Daddy's corpse. But that was not enough. The ladies brought along a chain saw and Rhee has to saw off her Daddy's hand so she could prove he was dead. Thus, all's well that ends well, even if you Daddy's dead, hand less, lying in the shallows of a lake. At least Rhee still has a house to live in, a sick Mom and two siblings who also depend on her. A great movie and a good book. Locals were stand in's in the movie, to give it a sense of verisimilitude.
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